Am I the only nut who uses bottled water in my humidifier?

Are my husband and I nuts to be using bottled drinking water that says purified water from Sam's for our CPAP machines instead of distilled water?

Any thoughts?

Distilled has nothing else in it but after reading on here how many others use regular water I have been using RO water. I may just switch back to distilled because it is the "cleanest" water source.

I prefer distilled water, because anything else leaves mineral deposits in the tank.
Let the deposits build up and the humidity output is reduced--like an old limed up tea kettle.
--or a dead water heater.

Cuda wrote:Distilled has nothing else in it but after reading on here how many others use regular water I have been using RO water. I may just switch back to distilled because it is the "cleanest" water source.

What is RO water?

The thing with distilled water is the I have only seen gallon jugs of it. As a nurse, it makes me leery to use a jug that has been opened for a week or two even with the cap on. It just seems that it would be a potential breeding ground whereas a small water bottle would only be used for a day or two since both my husband and I use CPAP. OTOH, I am not very religious about washing out the humidifier or equipment

Distilled, period. It's about having no impurities in the water I'm breathing and no minerals to build up in the machine.

If I run out of distilled I may use other bottled water or tap water for one night, but the next day for sure I'll get a new bottle.

RO is for reverse osmosis--just a different type of (expensive) filtering device.
My opinion: nothing is as good as distilled--and pretty cheap too.
You also have it handy in case you need to refill the steam iron.
Even though some manufacturers say you can use tap water--BS--they just want to sell you another iron.
If it messes up an iron, imagine what it does to your humidifier and hose.

Reverse Osmosis. Its a water purification system I had installed for ice and drinking water, its rather close to distilled water but not quite as clean (or so I am told). I have well water but its a new well, goes through a 5 micron filter, water softener, another 5 micron charcoal filter, UV scrubber and RO system. But still, distilled is the best. I cant see much of an issue with having an open jug, its more the mineral deposits you have to worry about from water from the faucet not to mention that will have chlorine and fluoride if its city water.

ameriken wrote:Distilled, period. It's about having no impurities in the water I'm breathing and no minerals to build up in the machine.

If I run out of distilled I may use other bottled water or tap water for one night, but the next day for sure I'll get a new bottle.

Has anyone seen cases of small bottles of distilled of about 16 ounces or less for reasonable price?

I was told it was ok to use water that is filtered thru my Brita drinking water pitcher. But I'm sure this is based on where I live and the type of water. Probably depends on what is used to process your water?

Cuda wrote:Reverse Osmosis. Its a water purification system I had installed for ice and drinking water, its rather close to distilled water but not quite as clean (or so I am told). I have well water but its a new well, goes through a 5 micron filter, water softener, another 5 micron charcoal filter, UV scrubber and RO system. But still, distilled is the best. I cant see much of an issue with having an open jug, its more the mineral deposits you have to worry about from water from the faucet not to mention that will have chlorine and fluoride if its city water.

When I worked in the hospital, infection control protocols required us to dispose of bottles of distilled water or saline that were opened for more than 24 hours. This is where my concern comes from but then again I am breaking all of the other rules regarding washing of equipment

I do hope to be better with that since I have had 5 episodes requiring prednisone for exacerbation of asthma as a well pneumonias in the past 3 years

CPAP Lady, I can see more stringent protocol with hospitals because of all the staph floating around, it must not be a huge concern as most here seem to use gallon jugs of distilled water and I have not seen smaller. You can actually buy a countertop distiller, they are not cheap but thats always an option.

Cheap one: http://www.amazon.com/Water-Distiller-C ... 683&sr=8-1

CPAP Lady wrote:When I worked in the hospital, infection control protocols required us to dispose of bottles of distilled water or saline that were opened for more than 24 hours. This is where my concern comes from but then again I am breaking all of the other rules regarding washing of equipment

Hospitals are FULL of sick people. I have had used my distilled water for a month or more. Some refrigerate it, I don't bother.

IF it bothers you to keep it around that long then use it in your coffee pot or drink it so it goes faster.

fwiw - I have had far fewer colds since I've been on cpap. If I have had 2 colds in 4 yrs thats a lot. I kid you not.

The tap water in Sydney is fine to drink straight out of the tap. Just to be sure I run it through a filter system for my Machine. I see very little oxidization ever in the tank.

I only use distilled water. I change the water every nite, so I use up a gallon in around three weeks. If you keep the cap on, nothing can possibly happen to the water. It's cheap enough, and in the long run, it's better all around.